US State Dept declines to comment on Imran’s blame game

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The US State Department has declined to comment on former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s big U-turn that America was not involved in any conspiracy to oust him from the PM office.

In a news briefing in Washington on Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States valued its long-standing relationship with Pakistan but refrained from making any comment on the ongoing domestic politics of the South Asian country.

He told reporters: “We value our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan. We’ve always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to our interests. That very much remains unchanged. Whether it has come to an end or not, we don’t let propaganda, misinformation, disinformation get in the way of any bilateral relationship.”

“That, of course, includes our valued bilateral relationship with Pakistan. When it comes to various political players inside of Pakistan, we don’t have a position on one political candidate or party versus another. We support, as we do around the world, the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles,” Price further said.

The spokesman, however, refrained from making any comment on the recent U-turn by Imran Khan on his ouster from power. “I’m just not going to comment on the evolution of the blame game, as you say. We have spoken clearly about this ever since these erroneous allegations surfaced. We’ve consistently said there is no truth to these allegations,” he added.

When asked about the Pakistani defence delegation who is in Washington for talks with the American military leadership, Ned Price said “I’m in a position to share publicly beyond the fact that Pakistan is a valued partner of the United States. It’s valued across many realms.”

“Of course, we have a security relationship that is important to us knowing that many of the threats Pakistan faces could well in turn be threats to us. And so we value the work we do together, but I’m just not in a position to offer anything beyond that,” said the State Department Spokesperson.